Certain .DELTA.26,27-alkyl compounds are known in the art. See European patent application EPO No. 170,006 and U.K. application No. 2,166,436. The instant compounds are derivatives of such compounds which contain new or modified substituents at the 13-, 22- and 23-positions. Further modifications are possible at the 5-, 8- and 9-positions.
The term avermectin (previously referred to as C-076) is used to describe a series of compounds isolated from the fermentation broth of an avermectin producing strain of Streptomyces avermitilis and derivatives thereof. The morphological characteristics of the culture are completely described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,519 and are incorporated herein by reference. The avermectin compounds are a series of macrolides, each of which is substituted thereon at the 13-position with a 4'-(.alpha.-L-oleandrosyl)-.alpha.-L-oleandrose group. Avermectin compounds and the derivatives thereof of this invention have a very high degree of anthelmintic and antiparasitic activity.
Milbemycin compounds are similar to the above avermectin compounds in that the 16-membered macrocyclic ring is present. However, such compounds have no substitution at the 13-position and have a methyl or ethyl group at the 25-position (the position the R.sub.2 group is found in the above structure). Such milbemycin compounds and the fermentation conditions used to prepare them are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,360. In addition, 13-deoxy-avermectin aglycones are prepared synthetically from the avermectin natural products and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,171,134 and 4,173,571. Such compounds are very similar to the milbemycins differing from some of the milbemycins in having an isopropyl or sec-butyl rather than a methyl or ethyl group at the 25-position.